Contra
by bohochic345
Summary: 1 year after the Chitauri attack, Bruce Banner is having to adjust to life at Stark Tower. But soon, his past comes crawling back, and he starts to loose his control, as well as the will to live. **Some dark themes** may get a bit graphic. may be a bit of sex. idk tbh. hulk fans will enjoy this some language from time to time :)
1. Chapter 1

Blue eyes.

Brown hair.

A touch.

A kiss.

A bed.

A hug.

A caress.

Faded, green arms.

Green muscles.

A white light…

As Bruce opened his maroon eyes and looked around his room, he was grateful that he still remained in his usual form after the nightmares he faced last night. There was always torment at every turn for him, but over the past week, the dreams turned into nightmares. And he was afraid to say that perhaps, those nightmares were epiphanies.

He walked into the hallway and took the elevator towards the kitchen. "Good morning, Dr. Banner," the eloquent AI enthused, almost surprising Bruce, as he leant towards the mirror in a sleepy haze.

"Huh – oh, hello Jarvis." He looked hastily at his reflection. He knew he couldn't afford to hold his reflection's gaze for too long. _Or was that even my reflection,_ Banner thought.

"Might I warn you that Miss Romanoff and Mr Barton are currently present downstairs with Mr Stark, Doctor?"

Bruce immediately pressed the button to return back up to the previous floor. "Is that so? Well, I'd prefer to have a shower first then."

"Without proceeding to have your morning coffee first?"

Bruce gave a subtle smile before biting the inside of his cheek nervously. "Yes, Jarvis. "

In the lounge area, Tony continued to amuse himself at the expense of others feelings. It was in his nature to do so. He had been rambling on about how Natasha and Clint looked like a couple. Clint did not care whatsoever; he knew Tony was only doing this to satisfy his own ego. And then later, if anyone questioned Tony's ability to co-operate with others, he would play the 'Without me, you guys wouldn't even talk to each other, let alone be the Avengers' card. Clint had to admit, that would be slightly true.

Meanwhile Natasha gently eyeballed him, knowing well that he was not going to give up on this unless he received a reaction. _Doesn't he get me by now,_ she thought. He was not going to drop this act. She cleared her throat and blurted sarcastically, "Yes, Clint and I have sex 3 times a day. Oh, and don't forget the suits Clint! We love leather. We have whips and swings. Oh, we have the whole deal going on. I love punishing people."

Silence. A chuckle rumbled from Clint's throat. Followed by Tony's loud laughter. "Kinky. Nice." He exclaimed, giving a sarcastic wink. Silence broken. She rolled her eyes dramatically then flashed one of her cheesy grins. _I can't believe I'm actually doing this. _

"You know, it's Bruce's birthday tomorrow." Tony said with a mischievous grin.

Clint and Natasha traded looks. They stared at Tony. "Well, if you want Avengers HQ, being completely destroyed again, be my guest," Clint mused, throwing his hands in the air.

"Oh c'mon, it'll be great. He's always stuck in that goddamn lab. Let him have some fun, guys."

They sighed.

"Guys?"

They sighed deeply.

"We can bring a few people down here, and we'll bring some of his friends arou-"

"What friends?" Natasha interrupted coldly.

"Which friends of his do you know? He stays out of contact with people for a reason. Just leave it alone."

"Yeah," Clint agreed, "Plus, he's not too fond of surprises."

Tony smiled. "Pffft. Whatever. We need to lighten up in here."

Natasha was tempted to get up from her seat, and walk towards the elevator. She was getting irritated with this routine. Fury told the Avengers to stay close after the Chitauri attack, but it never worked out. The closest they kept in contact to was Tony. 1 year on after their big debut, meetings would be less serious, and he'd raise the issue of "Who hit the headlines in TMZ this week?" It infuriated her, but she hated the idea that she let him get to her. Wiping the annoyance from her exterior was something she could easily do; it was the case of not getting annoyed by him that irritated her.

"I need to go over this briefing that Fury's got for us," she looked directly at Tony, "if that's alright with you."

Tony clapped his hands together and readjusted his position in his seat. "Yeah, whatever you say." He winked at her again.

"Jarvis, where's Banner?"

"He's currently in the elevator, on his way down, Mister Stark," the AI responded calmly.

The elevator doors opened, and Bruce emerged with grey slacks and a black shirt. He nodded at Clint and Natasha.

"Mister Barton, Miss Romanoff. Is everything good?" he asked calmly as he walked towards the kettle.

Pepper emerged from the elevators seconds later, with a warm smile on her face. "That's okay, Dr Banner, I can make you something." Bruce looked up surprised and pushed his glasses up his nose nervously. "Thank you, Pepper."

She smiled again. "Coffee?" He nodded meekly. "Isn't it always?"

He walked towards the lounge area and sat next to Tony. Tony grinned, and gave him a playful punch. "Had a goodnight's sleep?" Bruce flashed a subtle smile. "Yep."

"Here's your coffee," Pepper said cheerily, "I'll put it here." She placed it on the coffee table. "Thanks." He said awkwardly.

Clint leaned forward towards the coffee table, opening a black file on the desk. "So anyway, Fury said in SHIELD's data labs, they picked up high traces of gamma radiation," he turned to Bruce, "in Harlem."

Bruce frowned. "So I was supposed to have caused that? It's been about… nearly 3 years since I went there."

"We're not assuming you're the cause of it, Bruce. However, we know you do have some knowledge of that area, and once you did have an incident there, did you not?" Natasha interrupted.

Bruce curled his lips. "Yes. But the Other Guy wasn't the only thing down there that emitted high levels of Gamma Radiation at the time."

Tony turned towards Bruce. "You mean, that experiment Ross had right? "

Bruce nodded. "Yep. A soldier was given a solution that contained my blood," he looked at his hands momentarily, "the formula in my blood that makes me what I am. The guy wanted to be a Super Soldier. And General Ross was still hell bent on having an army of them. So he gave it to him, in a series of doses. And he became an… abomination, I guess."

Natasha nodded. "Do you know of any chemicals or anything radioactive substances that they used to stop this 'abomination' thing from happening?"

Bruce twisted his lips and entwined his hands. "No. They just sent me out there."

Clint stood up. "Well then. Fury just wanted you guys to know about this."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Alright guys, we'll see you soon then." Natasha shot him a look.

Tony winked. Clint and Natasha walked into the elevator.

Bruce stared deeply at his reflection in the glass coffee table. The memories. It was all flooding back. Coming back to haunt him perhaps? He could hear the roaring in his head get slightly louder. He put it off. _No, not now. I have to do this away from here. _


	2. Chapter 2

It had been playing on his mind all night. _Why would Barton look at me in that way?_ He shook his head and continued staring at the test tubes in front of him. Now, he'd lost his train of thought. Where was he? The lab. What was he doing? Testing something. But he couldn't remember what. A small growl was heard. He flinched and looked around. There was nothing. He held a test tube and tapped it gently. Another small growl was heard. He flinched again. _Not today, Big Guy. Not today. And you think another incident is gonna happen over voices in my head? Not today._

He walked out of the lab. Slowly, he strolled along the corridor, he turned his head at all angles. Then stopped. And breathed in deeply. He closed his eyes. Exhale. He took another step forward. Inhale. Exhale. Another step again. Inhale. _Inhale. _Exhale. _Exhale. _Another step. But then he thought to himself, _how can I inhale twice?_ He knew exactly what _he _was making a play for.

"I SAID NOT TODAY," he murmured threateningly to himself. A deep, rumbling chuckle echoed back.

What happened to him? In the space of 24 hours, just the noun 'Harlem' completely threw him off for the entire day. The thoughts of General Ross sitting in his office at that moment, laughing to himself made him feel like his heart was about to leap out of his chest. And then it suddenly stopped. And then it was suddenly quiet.

He turned back to walk to the lab, and his jaw gently tensed. Pepper stood there for a moment. Not a single breath was heard. Her skin appeared more ghostly than before. Bruce took his glasses off and stared back. Bruce always knew that Pepper kept a distance, but over the period he had stayed at her home, she became more immune to his awkward murmurs, quiet exchanges and odd looks. Today, however, for the first time, she didn't see Banner as a mild mannered man with a slight problem; she just saw the problem as Banner.

"Hello B-Bruce."

"Hi Pepper."

She quickly turned in the other direction and headed towards the elevator. Bruce shook his head.

Bruce felt like he wanted to get another gun and give it another try. But it would be hopeless. He laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling. The Other Guy wasn't going to let him go. It was as if the Other Guy thought he could have more control over him now Bruce was caught off guard. "Well Banner. You're definitely gonna be leaving soon," he said bluntly.

"Dr Banner, Nick Fury has requested your presence with the other Avengers. It is advised that you would be dressed in formal attire," Jarvis said.

Bruce sighed. "Yes Jarvis, thank you. Tell them I'll be ready in 10 minutes."

Once dressed in a black suit, with a silvery black tie, he went into the elevator. As he stood there, he looked up towards the ceiling. "Jarvis, what is the occasion? We usually wear whatever to meetings with him?"

Jarvis never replied. "Jarvis?"

The doors opened and he raised his eyebrows in shock. "Tony… what is this?"

He stared at the green balloons which said 'Happy Birthday' in spidery black writing, and golden spindles of ribbon was tossed everywhere. His eyes then focused on Tony, who was in a nicely tailored suit, with a matching bow tie. Natasha had a slim fitting black dress on, with red lipstick. Her hair was in loosely curled ringlets which formed around her face. Clint had a blue shirt on with a black checkered blazer with matching trousers. Maria Hill was also in the background, with a Peplum red dress on, which Bruce could recall Pepper had worn once before. Pepper wore a long white dress, with smoky black eye shadow. Steve wore a simple black suit, however understated and classy. Many other personnel from the Helicarrier were also present to in formal attire, although it made Bruce feel slightly uncomfortable.

Tony walked up to him and put his arm around his shoulder. "You didn't think that I would do anything, did you?" He smiled.

"Tony, you didn't have to-"

"Listen, Banner. You are one of the most humble, genuine and realest guys I have met in my entire life. And despite Mr Ragey in there, I know that he's going to enjoy every moment of this. You deserve this. We care about you Bruce." Then Tony gave Bruce something he hadn't felt in a long time. A hug. Tony wrapped his arms around him in a warm, brotherly hug.

Bruce didn't know how to react. But he knew where traditions lie. He gently placed his arms around him too. After a few seconds, they pulled away from each other. "Thank you."

As Bruce was about to walk towards the appetisers, at the counter, Tony gently held him back as everyone started to mingle. Bruce smiled weakly in suspicion. "Bruce, I know that it's hard to live and deal with all of us. The Avengers, SHIELD, I don't even think you trust me yet." Bruce chuckled softly. "But I want to make today really special for you. And I think she's gonna be glad that she can make it special for you too." Tony motioned his head in the opposite direction. As Bruce turned around, her warm breath collided with his cheek. He could remember her scent. Oh, he knew exactly who it was. Without a second thought, he whispered "Betty."

Her clear blue eyes met his, and hugged him tightly. "Bruce."


End file.
